Regional Preview: 4A Regional #2

The season is coming up quickly and we are starting to pour into our previews for the upcoming season. Today, we are looking at those Regional setups across the state starting with 1 and ending with 16.Today, we preview Regional 2 with Sectionals 5-8.

Last Year – 17-18*Based on Sagarin from 2017-18

Carmel

Zionsville

Fort Wayne North

Hamilton Southeastern

Fort Wayne Carroll

McCutcheon

Homestead

Fishers

East Noble

Huntington North

Conference Commentary

Top TenTeams that are in the Top 10 of the State in 4A

Zionsville – For Zionsville, there are a ton of guys returning from a team that was one of the best teams in the state last year. They bring back a ton of size and have Isaiah Thompson back shooting the ball in his final year.There has never been as much talent for Zionsville before and there aren’t going to be many teams that can boast more.Should start out in the Top 10 in 4A but will have to really fight this year to succeed and finally breakthrough and get past the second weekend.

Carmel – Carmel is about as consistent as you can come up with when putting together a list of teams in Indiana. They are very senior-laden this year with guys like Andrew Owens, Luke Heady, and John-Michael Mulloy. While they have had teams in the past that are better, this group has an easier path than in years past.

Top Ten Potential
Teams that could be in the Top 10 of the State in 4A

Hamilton Southeastern – HSE graduated some key pieces on a team that may end up needing consistent production from their depth pieces. Chris Grubbs, Mabor Majak, and Aaron Etherington are set to return but will they have those bench pieces that can step up when they need them to? That answer to that question will determine if they are a top team in that state or just very good.

Homestead – Homestead is very similar to Carmel in their ability to reload every single season and execute talent even though it might not be the best on the floor in any particular game. Losing Raber, Onye, and Buck hurts but you return Luke Goode, Archbold, and Krueger as well as having some solid freshman coming in, this team is set to be in things again and have a shot to be competitive in the second weekend of the state tournament.

Compete With MostTeams that could be well above .500 this Season

Fort Wayne Carroll – Carroll is sitting in a really good spot but as has always been, their ability to score the ball will be minimized by their style. If they open things up even a little bit, the combination of David Ejah and Dan McKeeman is one that is going to be powerful and potent.

East Noble – Another duo that could really bust out this year will be that of Ali Ali and Hayden Jones, both of which took big steps over the last year with their development. East Noble gets lucky with a slight less talented Fort Wayne area and they house some legit size and rim protection to where they have the advantage.

Lafayette Jeff – Last season Jeff was pretty solid and ended up being very competitive but there is a new coach and a few new pieces including Braxton and Brooks Barnhizer. Brooks could end up being one of the best players in the state in 2021 and both provide excellent shooting and size on the perimeter. Don’t be shocked if they end up being one of the best teams in the state by the end of the year.

RebuildingTeams that were good last year but could struggle this Season

Fort Wayne North – North is getting hurt in a ton of ways and don’t expect this year to be very good for the program moving forward. They not only lost their head coach but they also lost Keion Brooks, Andrew Kroft, Lucas Kroft, and Jalen Causey.Not sure who will be left that will be able to help make this team competitive but they will have to become a whole new things.

McCutcheon – TheMcCutcheon and Robert Phinisee era is over and while they bring back some talent, not sure that they will be close to the best team in their area with Jeff, Harrison, and West Lafayette looking like some of the best options.However, this team usually has a great base of talent to pull from and it might just be a blip in the string of talented teams.